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By Andrew Warshaw
January 22 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter is in Moscow for an update on the country’s bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.
Ostensibly Blatter is visiting the Russian capital to attend the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Cup, introduced in 1993 as a competition for former independent states who were once part of the Soviet Union.
But his visit, the second in three months, is being trumpeted as a major step forward in Russia’s World Cup bidding process.
Blatter is scheduled to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when he will be updated on the investment being made by the Russian government and the financial guarantees needed for the bidding process.
Russia’s bid, which was officially launched last October, has the full support of the Government, with a high-level steering committee established under First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.
Although it will be the first meeting of Blatter with the Russian president, Blatter has already met Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (pictured), praising the country’s possible role in hosting the world’s most popular sporting event.
While Russia is officially bidding for either the 2018 or 2022 tournament, Europe is most likely to host the event four years after Brazil in 2014.
After recent setbacks on and off the field, Russia have considerable ground to make up on their rivals and Blatter’s visit is seen as a critical stage in the lobbying process.
He will be joined on Saturday by UEFA President Michel Platini at a press conference in Moscow.
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